Fundraiser has her head in the clouds

A mother-of-two is skydiving 10,000 feet to raise money for a vital helpline for young people.

Lucy Drake said the jump in tandem is her parting gift as treasurer of Youth2Youth, an Acton-based helpline, as well as a 40th birthday challenge.

She said:"As well as a parting gift, having reached 40 I wanted to try and experience something I had never done before. I was talking to a younger colleague who said she would if I did. Although she is not doing it now, I still am.

"I was very excited about the idea but when I signed up and the email back thanked me for my bravery it turned my stomach a bit. My daughters are finding this amusing as I am usually the one waiting for them to come off the rides at theme parks."

She has raised £300 so far but hopes to top £3,000, the amount needed to run Y2Y every month. The charity, nationally applauded, only has a year's funding left.

Lucy, a senior production accountant from Rickmansworth, said:"If we don't raise enough money this will be its last year. Y2Y does a fantastic job. Only last week the kids saved a 15-year-old's life after she had taken an overdose. They talked to her all night and realised from what she had taken she only had a couple of hours to live. It's incredible what they achieve."

She is taking the skydive, with only 20 minutes tuition beforehand, at Bicester on November 1. She said:"You freefall for about a minute before the instructor opens the parachute. My daughter wants me to take a flag to wave as I come down."